The Eye Of The Storm

For many years now we have seen films with dysfunctional families from America. But we in Australia have families that are just as weird.

A familiar story in films is that of family members returning home to care for or be with an elderly relative as they are about to die. Normally it means old feelings are bought up and people must confront the ones they love. This film is not different. But it is told in an interesting way. The film is beautifully shot and has a poetic quality to it. I've not read Patrick White's book on which this film is based but Judy Morris has written an excellent screenplay. It is full of clever and witty lines which makes it a lot of fun to watch. There is however the exemplary direction of Fred Schepisi. He handles everything so skillfully. You know you are in the hands of a master storyteller.

It is the characters though that make the film its most interesting and entertaining. Rich people are always more interesting because they are full of strange quirks. This film features three great characters. At the centre we have the matriarch Elizabeth Hunter. A women who is not all there but has still has a great deal of grace. She may not have behaved well in her life and treated her kids the way a mother should. Which explains why her children are the way they are and why it has taken them so long to get home. They have become successful in their lives I think as a way of gaining their mother's approval. Basil is probably the favourite as Elizabeth gets dressed up when he arrives. Dorothy is the most fragile emotionally because of a past experience with her mother. Then there are the servants. All have their own weird little quirks too. Which makes for a most entertaining household.

I have a great deal of respect for Aussie actors who return home to support the local industry. Geoffrey Rush, I'm sure, could not have pasted up the opportunity to play such a great character. Geoffrey plays his foppishness so well. Judy Davis we sadly do not get to see all that often on film but she is so brilliant here. The imported Charlotte Rampling is wonderful as the unstable mother. Her fragile mind is just as fragile as her emotions. Fred's daughter Alexandra plays the feisty vixen very well. Helen Morse is also very good as the put upon housekeeper.

A wonderful Aussie film that has a great deal of intellect and beauty. Dysfunctional families come in all shapes and sizes.